


Taunt Within Reason

by absoluteMastard



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Mid Season 3, Taunting, canon typical smug asshole elias, catharsis through elias getting whats coming at every opportunity, dangly eye earring!elias, im a firm believer of getting elias' ass, mild ear injury, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:27:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23351662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/absoluteMastard/pseuds/absoluteMastard
Summary: TL;DR: Elias talks shit and regrets it. Also, he has that one fancy dangly earring with the eye on it.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 68





	Taunt Within Reason

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was purely built around the idea of Elias having that one dangly eye earring that artists draw him with, namely tumblr user chickpeamcb, and how I'm sure everyone wants to just yank it out of his ear whenever he's being a smug asshole lmao.
> 
> It's what he deserves.

“Ah. Detective Tonner. There you are.”

It was astounding how a voice so calm and smooth could still be grating to the ears. Daisy stopped dead in the hallway, she had just gotten into the building, and was on her way toward the archives to find Basira after she didn't show up in the lobby. Unfortunately, that meant passing that smiling freak’s office. He’d obviously been waiting for her so he could beckon her in. Another job, evidently.

Good. Maybe having some circus freaks to dispatch would give her better focus, let her blow off some steam in a more… productive way. In a way that involved less collateral damage.

She sighed, the tension in her shoulders not dropping, as she turned toward Elias, who was most definitely grinning. He left his door open and stepped over to the side of his desk, and Daisy followed him in.

“We’ve had some ‘guests’ in the area. Since Jon managed to slip past his pursuer in America, the Stranger’s denizens are hoping to catch him again if they keep watch for his return to the Institute.” He explained casually, tone almost pleasant, as if they weren’t discussing monsters. He looked down to straighten out the papers and folders on top of his desk, as if everything in this office wasn’t already immaculate. “They should pose no real threat to you, it’s just a few more mannequins, and a wax figure.”

Daisy grunted softly in reply. She’d been doing this for a few weeks now, and she did appreciate the direct approach to hunting monsters over her secretive methods doing so as a police officer. However, when it was Elias asking her to do something, it left a sick taste in her mouth. He could request that she bake biscuits for herself and she’d despise the action through and through. She didn’t like being under anyone’s thumb, let alone a thing like him. And yet she had to, or else Basira was on the line.

“Fine,” She said, crossing her arms. “Where can I find them?”

Elias looked back over to her, seemingly contented with her discomfort. She made no effort to hide her attempts to keep their meetings short. Then again, he would know regardless, and he rarely made anything easy for her. “The waxwork is riding the tube lines between the institute and the airport; it’s in a far-too-public setting, so I suggest you wait until dark.”

 _’I’m not an idiot.’_ She thought, glaring at him. She took a breath to try and keep her calm before replying. “And the mannequins?”

“One is in the window of a clothing shop, and some others are patrolling a rather monotonous perimeter on the street, they’re dressed a little warm for the weather to obscure themselves, so they should be easy to spot. I can send the details of their locations to your phone.” He answered. 

Daisy nodded, and began to turn. That was all she needed and cared to hear. But naturally, Elias had other plans. He interrupted her before she had a chance to step toward the exit. “There’s no need to rush away, Detective Tonner. Basira is just rather engrossed in the book she’s reading at this moment, and she hasn’t noticed the time.”

“What,” she muttered through clenched teeth, looking back at him, “is your point?”

He was so crisp and composed it was unnerving. His suit had no wrinkle in sight, as if he’d obsessively ironed out every imperfection before putting it on this morning, and knew that he had enough leverage that nobody could touch him and mess it up. He cocked his head to the side, the eye charm of his single earring brushing against his right shoulder.

He started sporting it the day after their confrontation. Now that the cat was out of the bag, he probably didn’t see the need in hiding his malicious nature anymore. He declared himself untouchable, and was happy to flaunt that fact. It made her failure to kill him sooner much harder to cope with.

“You’re upset with Basira, for enjoying her position as much as she is.” He said. “She really is just making the best of it. She’s good at it, too. She really picks up the slack now that the most competent of Jon’s assistants is officially gone. She’ll do well here.”

“She’s going to get out of here as soon as I find out how to deal with you.” She growled. Her pulse was quickening, and her palms twitching. Just hearing him say her name was pissing her off, how Elias was practically waving Basira over her head.

He just gave her that smug look again. “I highly doubt you’ll resolve her situation by doing my dirty work.” Elias replied, giving a soft chuckle as he watched her growing scowl. “But I’m sure she finds your loyalty flattering. You’re a committed guard dog, if not a smart one.”

“That’s it—” She spat, lunging toward him. Everything else blacked out from her sight except for the staring cretin in front of her. He only had just enough time to lose the grin before she was on him, grabbing a fistful of his expensive suit and wrenching him close. By now he’d obviously seen the error of miscalculating how much he could taunt her, and he was already trying to twist out of her grip. The two were of equal height, but Daisy was much stronger than him.

Her hands itched to reach toward his throat. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to squeeze it or rip it out, meanwhile the small part at the back of her head that was telling her to listen to reason was causing her to hesitate. Elias was trying to take advantage of her falter, locking eyes with her. His single earring’s chain was swinging from all the excitement.

“Now, I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong f— _augh— Daisy—_ ” She cut him off, pushing him into the wall and pulling the chain taut. It wasn’t long enough to do exactly what she wanted, but it was long enough to be uncomfortable to move or talk when held tight across the side of his neck, right over his pulse. She was _sick_ of hearing him talk.

His earlobe stretched painfully downward as she kept the pressure on. He hissed at the sensation, but seemed hesitant to move in fear of her pushing in harder. Daisy’s breathing became calmer, her focus all on Elias, who finally looked as small as he should.

“I wonder what will break first: the chain, or your ear?” She mused, voice devoid of emotion, “Maybe your neck will, but I doubt I could be that lucky.”

She began to push down more, pausing when she heard rushed footsteps coming toward her. “Daisy.” Said Basira, her tone urgent, “That’s a bad idea.”

She didn’t look over; she didn’t need to. She just kept her gaze on Elias, daring him to do anything to provoke her. “I’m not an idiot.” Daisy replied.

“I know you’re not. So maybe you should let go of him, now.” Basira said, keeping her voice level. Daisy barely heard her over the sound of blood rushing in her ears, telling her to do the opposite and keep pushing in.

But Basira mattered more than the satisfaction of killing Elias now. With a low growl, she released him, watching the dangling charm of his earring bounce back to its normal side. She watched a single drop of blood well up from his pierced lobe before releasing her grip on his suit, then backed away from him. He didn’t break eye contact with her either, only reached up to rub the thin indent mark at his neck.

“I’ll give you a lift home, Basira.” She said quietly, not looking over to her. She didn’t want to see her partner’s disapproving look. Elias was smart enough by this point to not act victorious over the intervention that saved him. He now just watched her with well-deserved caution and silence. If nothing else, she could be happy with that, and how rumpled his perfect suit was after their scuffle. “I’ll be busy hunting tonight.”

“…What is it this time?” She asked.

Daisy turned for the exit, brushing against Basira's shoulder as she passed her. “Something worth the effort.”


End file.
